These days, the slender spire topped by the Mormon's main angel Moroni at Chorley, is one of the landmarks of the M61 swooping north to the Lake District. It's handy for atheists and agnostics as well as believers if they aren't quite sure which junction they've got to. It's number eight.

I must add a personal interest. One of my favourite books is Riders of the Purple Sage by Zane Grey which includes many Mormons; and I've just discovered the sequel The Rainbow Trail which does too. I'm just devouring the chapter about the US Supreme Court trial in Utah of polygamists' hidden wives.

The Mormons are in the news in northern England because their north west congregation is turning the site of a former student bar on Manchester's Oxford Road into a church and social centre. You can read a full report in the Manchester Evening News here. One notable feature is that the five storey building, complete with rooftop basketball court, will not serve alcohol which Mormons do not take.

The church hopes that the building will help Mormon students who may feel isolated in a UK student culture which is often awash with drink. They're also looking to spread the word among worshippers' families that Manchester's universities will have this facility up and running from 2014.

Whatever people's views on religion, the project is another example of abstention's modest progress in the north and the UK more widely. Diners at Bradford's excellent Asian restaurants, for instance, will be familiar with the increasing number which do not serve alcohol and some which do not allow customers to bring it either.